10 print magazines for creative inspiration, by magCulture’s founder
Print is far from dead – in the magazine world, it’s having a moment. Independent titles are booming, offering a tactile, thoughtful alternative to the digital scroll. With topics covering food and fiction to architecture and art, this list curated by magCulture founder Jeremy Leslie, highlights ten standout titles that are keeping print culture alive, thriving and inspiring.
Since its founding in 2015, MagCulture has become something of an icon in the world of print magazines. Not only does it stock an incredible array of new and established magazine in its shop, it has also evolved an editorial platform and podcast, as well as annual conferences in London and New York – all in celebration of the printed mag.
Despite so many magazines being available online, its founder Jeremy Leslie has seen only seen interest in tangible, independent magazines rise – not just in demand, but also for creating their own. In his mind, the pandemic marked a shift, when – with fewer distractions – “people stopped talking about making a magazine and just got on and did it.” Now, he says, “We’re inundated with new titles. We get around five new submissions a day, and while we can’t take every one, we check them all, and thankfully, many are brilliant.”
For Jeremy, the good news is that demand has kept up, and “appetite for magazines is still growing.” In terms of visitors to the store, he welcomes shoppers of all ages looking for inspiration; “whether for a phone-free read, creative research or interests like art, design, tennis or architecture. People are turning to print magazines because they’re human. Each is a carefully crafted object, made through collaboration, intention and care. At their best, magazines invite readers into an ongoing creative conversation.” Below, Jeremy has curated a list of 10 titles that he believes do just that:
MacGuffin
The magCulture Shop opened ten years ago, just after issue one of MacGuffin landed. In many ways, it's become a reference point for every other magazine we’ve seen since.
Its clever concept is that each issue examines one item in detail, ‘The Bed’, ‘The Bottle’, ‘The Tree’, etc, executed brilliantly, with intelligent commissioning, strong art direction and great production. Each issue as a whole is a brilliant piece of editorial design presenting surprise after surprise.
The Whitney Review of New Writing
This New York-based tabloid is named after its founder, Whitney Mallet. It reviews writing, covering novels, film scripts and even press releases in precise, intelligent language and with little fuss.
TWRoNW always appears in black and white with one additional colour and uses no images – it’s a magazine about writing that contains only writing – and one typeface. These parameters might make it sound mundane, but the opposite is the case. Writing and ideas are to the fore, the stark manifesto-like appearance giving it a distinct authority.
New Papers
New Papers offers six pieces of creative writing in a new issue every month. Its small, delicate format is the perfect vehicle for reading, the texts sitting in clear white space and the limited number of stories emphasising the value of quality over quantity.
Each issue is launched with a live, page-by-page performance of the entire issue, and the one image in each issue is an ensemble shot of the editorial team and writers.
Pleasant Place
Another Dutch magazine, each issue digs into one aspect of gardening: a single flower (latest issue, Daffodils), a technique (Topiary) or process (Compost).
It’s also beautifully designed and bound with metal staples in anticipation of a collector’s folder.
Vittles
A brand new launch building on the success of the food Substack of the same name. Celebrating five years of the newsletter, the print edition repurposes some stories and adds more.
The mood is recognisably Vittles – alternating between founder Jonathan Nunn’s passion for South Asian food and poking the food writing world to be better – but the design options available in print add another dimension.
Fukt
Most of the magazines here make use of the basic rules of magazine design: the grid, a limited selection of fonts etc. Fukt is different, a themed magazine about drawing that presents as a sketchbook. Every page is packed with pen and brush strokes, handwriting, and imagery.
Want to see 258 pages of creative reflections on Nature? Check out their latest issue. Plus, their front covers are always physically interactive.
Interview
The long-established New York quarterly has found a new context for its celebrity-interviews-celebrity Q&A format, reinventing itself as a super-sized Instagram zine. Under the editorial guidance of designer Richard Turley and stylist Mel Ottenberg, bold black and white type and saturated photo shoots announce ‘who’s who’ in that issue.
If sometimes it feels like the stories have been phoned in, that’s the point. This is the magazine that we’ll look back at in 20 years' time and think, ‘that was the 2020s…’ for good or bad (but mainly good)!
The Fence
Interest in The Fence is definitely building right now. A magazine of writing, it mixes long-form reportage with silly, English humour. Presented in two-colour black and warm red, using only black-and-white illustrations and white ilustrations as visuals, it has a strong, unapologetic appearance that expects the reader to read.
The effort is worth it; as well as the individual stories being well-written and researched, it’s providing a creative outlet for a new generation of journalists rarely given this time and freedom.
NYTimes Magazine
The biggest magazine on the list earns its place for its dedication to the craft of magazine-making and its ongoing experiments with digital storytelling.
It’s led by editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein and creative director Gail Bichler, whose respective teams have continually excelled at creating astounding front covers and special editions in print, relying on the best collaborators (writers, editors, designers, photographers and illustrators) to produce era defining stories and visuals, magazine making at its very best.
New York Review of Architecture (NYRA)
Another two-colour tabloid from New York, this time black and yellow. It covers the city’s architecture with a strong bullshit detector; at once serious and funny, it neglects architectural egos in favour of the reality of the city’s built environment.
It avoids traditional architectural photography and renders in favour of illustration; every issue is laced with drawings of its rat mascot, ‘NYRAt’, setting the overall tone for the publication.
